Best Pokemon Go Fighting Cup Team Recommendations

Things to know about building a Fighting Cup team in Pokémon Go

The advantage of the 1500 CP limit is that, like the Great League, building a squad is relatively cheap and easier in terms of Stardust.

The downside to this specific cup is that it is extremely restricted, the pool of usable options is only about 50 Pokemon deep.

Since psychic types are forbidden, we need to look at the other weaknesses of this type: fairy and flying.

With a complete lack of fairy/fighting types in the game, this option is safe. Flying moves on Fighting Types, however, are not unheard of. In order to protect against this, and the fact that single-combat types tend to be extremely glassy, ​​you’re going to want to explore your options to find a team that has the right level of defense to be competitive.

There’s only one legendary Pokemon to seriously consider here: Buzzwole. But, since it’s only available to those who made it to an in-person event last month, with it entering the raid pool after the Fighting Cup ends, almost everyone will need to rely on more common captures.

Technically, Galarian Zapdos is a fight/fly type and is in the game, but again, it’s so hard to grab we’ll skip that as well.

And, if you don’t have our recommended picks for the Big League, chances are you can find them quite easily in the wild. It also makes Community Day, which offers an easy source of powerful Pokemon that do well at lower CP levels, a more appealing proposition.

No matter what league you’re in, remember you’re looking for Pokemon with a decent amount of bulk (the ability to survive charged moves – type of weakness depending – so you can get some of your own ) and those that best counter or expose weaknesses in the current meta (which is a term for what the community is currently using).

While there are specific Pokemon that dominate this meta, remember that with the Go Battle League (and player vs. player battles in general), you’ll be going blind; So even if you cover yourself with a wide range of offensive and defensive options, no team is invincible.

Still, even with a few of the Pokémon below on your team, you should be able to fare better than if you just picked the ones that come as close to the 1500 CP cap as possible.

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Go Season has arrived! The final event is the Pokémon World Championship quest, which also offers a Twitch code for a Team Building quest. Elsewhere, be sure to use Daily Adventure Incense for the chance to encounter Galarian Articuno, Galarian Zapdos, and Galarian Moltres. There is also a new special research quest – A Mysterious Incense. While Go Fest 2022 may be behind us, there are still three special research quests you could work on – Pokémon Go Fest 2022, Rhi’s Arrival, and A Radiant World. This season also saw the Candy XL requirement drop and introduced the first Ultra Beasts, as well as new Prime Gaming rewards every fortnight.

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Our Pokémon Go Fighting Cup recommendations

There’s no “best” team you can pick – since, as mentioned, you don’t know what you’re up against – and not everyone has access to every type of Pokemon.

Instead, here’s a general list of recommended Fighting Cup Pokemon to build a team, with a wide range of sources that should suit all players, whether you’ve been collecting creatures since day one or just started playing. .

Remember that you are only allowed one of each in the Go Battle League, and ideally you would want to build a team with different type strengths and defense. For example, if you’re building a team with all mono-combat types, anything with a move like Aerial Ace will just make you sad.

It’s also worth noting that if you really want to compete, each of your Pokémon needs two charged moves. If you want to skimp on Stardust and only perform one move, do so at your own risk – you’ve been warned.

Our Pokémon Go Fighting Cup team recommendations in order of appearance in the National Pokédex – although there is some overlap with the Great League guide, be sure to read the full entry as we may recommend some movement changes:

hitmonchan

Genre: Fighting
Recommended Moves: Counter (Fast), Power-Up Punch (Charged), Fire Punch (Charged)
Hitmonchan’s Weaknesses: Faerie, Flying, and Psychic

Oh look, another counter user!

Shadow Hitmonchan is probably the best option as a leader in the Fighting Cup, delivering incredible fast movement pressure with Counter, followed by the self-buffing Power-Up Punch to make himself increasingly threatening.

The problem, of course, is the glassiness of this Pokémon. Although it can often pass through those with flying-type attacks faster than they can unleash them. He loses to Machamp, who can just stay in the ring longer.

If you don’t have a Shadow build, a normal Hitmonchan will do, but it’s considerably weaker, which makes a huge difference in such a shallow meta.

machamp

Genre: Fighting
Recommended moves: Counter (Fast), Cross Chop (Charged), Close combat (Charged)
Machamp Weaknesses: Fairy, Flying, and Psychic

It wouldn’t be the Fighting Cup without the Fighting Types MVP, would it?

As a counter that hits incredibly hard, it’s a great choice. However, its lack of double strikes makes it incredibly inflexible, leaving it susceptible to that natural glass cannon issue we mentioned earlier.

Still, Shadow and regular Machamp are amazing here, putting on a lot of pressure very quickly. Just know that Close Combat is your Hail Mary when you’re low on HP, because there’s a 100% chance your defense won’t end well if you use it too soon.

Toxic

Type: Poison / Fighting
Recommended Moves: Counter (Fast), Mud Bomb (Charged), Mud Bomb (Charged)
Toxicroak Weaknesses: Psychic, Flying, and Ground

Given both its strength and easy availability, you should expect to see a lot of Toxicroak running around the Fighting Cup.

As a spammy but flexible option that applies a lot of fast movement pressure with one of the best fast moves in the game, it’s easy to see why it’s so popular. He makes quick work of the likes of Buzzwole in particular, while defeating both Shadow and regular Machamp in straight combat.

However, it loses very quickly to anything that can create a pushover (Throh, Sneasler, and Galarian Farfetch’d), so be sure to play to your strengths!

Hakamo-o

Type: Dragon / Fighting
Recommended Moves: Dragon Tail (Fast), Dragon Claw (Charged), Brick Break (Charged)
Hakamo-o Weaknesses: Fairy, Dragon, Flying, Ice, and Psychic

Who knew dragons were good in Pokemon?

Unfortunately, its charged moves mean it doesn’t apply a lot of shield pressure, which means you probably shouldn’t start with Pokemon first on your team. But, given his strength – arguably the best option in this whole Cup – you definitely want one in your team somewhere if you have one!

buzzwole

Type: Insect / Fighting
Recommended Moves: Counter (Fast), Superpower (Charged), Slash (Charged)
Buzzwole Weaknesses: Flying, Fairy, Fire, and Psychic

It’s such a shame that Buzzwole is so stacked in this cup, because given his rarity, combined with his strength, it can look like a big payoff to win when you go up against him.

If you were lucky enough to pick one below 1500 CP, this dynamic, spammy Pokémon is capable of applying a lot of pressure, very quickly, knocking out most Pokémon on this list.

If you’re wondering how to take down any Buzzwole you come across, know that for all their strength, they have weaknesses. He loses pretty hard to Toxicroak, Sneasler’s air ace and a Shadow Machamp. Try to have at least one of these Pokemon on your team if you can!

Sirfetch’d

Genre: Fighting
Recommended Moves: Counter (Fast), Brave Bird (Charged), Leaf Blade (Charged)
Sirfetch Weaknesses: Fairy, Flying, and Psychic

With absolutely everything in this meta being weak to fly, Sirfetch would run Brave Bird with STAB is going to be a huge boon to your team.

With victories against Sneasler and Machamp, this noble bird clearly like the pressure of the shield to take on the best.

However, as always, there’s a downside – in this case, it’s Brave Bird that lowers your defense by three stages. This means that while it’s a great attack if it wins you the match, it can easily lose you the match if your timing is wrong! Just be aware of this if you plan to create one for your team.

sneaker

Type: Fighting / Poison
Recommended Moves: Shadow Claw (Fast), Close Combat (Charged), Air Ace (Charged)
Sneasler Weaknesses: Psychic, Flying, and Ground

Poison as a second strike is a great option in this cup, as evidenced by Sneasler and Toxicroak. The problem, however, is that it’s nearly impossible to get a Fighting Cup Sneasler without jumping through awesome hoops first.

First, you need to get a Hisuian Sneasel by hatching a 7km egg while it’s in the egg pool, which as of this writing has only happened during the July 2022 Hisuian Discoveries event. You then need to evolve it by walking. 7km and spend 100 Sneasel Candy during the day. Unfortunately, this leaves you with a Sneasler who is too high a level to fight the cup, which means trading with a friend of the right level to drop his CP below 1500.

If you really want to do this, be sure to reroll your Sneasel before trading it, otherwise you’re wasting candies. Ideally, you’re aiming for a Sneasel around 850 CP or lower in order to evolve it into something that can be used in the Fighting Cup.

If that sounds like too much hard work, the good news is that a Hisuian Sneasel is also a perfectly acceptable option, with the only change being Poison Jab as a quick move.

Is it worth jumping through all those hoops? Yes, it could be because this flexible but spammy Pokemon applies a lot of shield pressure to quickly beat Toxicroak, Buzzwole, Machamp, and Hakamo-o, but know that you’ll lose to Toxicroak if you bring its unevolved form to the party.